Communication-flow privacy-preservation in 6lowpans-based iot networks

Abstract

An Internet of Things (IoT) network is a worldwide network connecting billions of devices with each other over the Internet. IPv6 Low power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) is an enabling technology for a complete end-to-end IoTs architecture. A 6LoWPAN contains small devices that communicate with other small devices or other powerful devices over the Internet. Communication privacy is a feature that allows the communicating users to make sure that there is no other entity that is spying on them. As such, it is a very important feature for the success of IoT applications. While traditionally privacy has been dealt with by hiding the content of the data content exchanged between the communicating pairs through the use of encryption, it has been shown that this cannot be sufficient in many application scenarios. It has been shown that metadata information such as the ones included in packet headers for the sake of the operation of communication protocols, such as IP addresses, reveal information such as the identities of the communicating pairs, which in some applications is considered critical information. While there are many surveys in the literature dealing with communication privacy in the IoT, to our knowledge, little has been done on communication-flow identifiers privacy preservation in 6LoWPAN-based IoT networks. In this survey, we thoroughly expose the prime focus of the existing solutions on communication identifiers privacy in 6LoWPANs, clarifying the important information about: at which layer solutions operate, based on which protocol, against which attack, for which application, based on simulations or real prototypes, which sensitive information or communication identifiers are protected, which Privacy-Preserving Technique (PPT) is used, and how long is the duration of the protection against privacy attacks. We provide a comprehensive coverage on all of these aspects focusing on the main design guidelines that drove existing solutions while showing their merits and shortcomings.